Trop features fight nights

Dean Juipe

Thursday, July 24, 1997 | 9:22 a.m.

The Tropicana is hosting boxing cards consecutive nights this week, with Top Rank providing Friday's fights and Forum Boxing of Los Angeles coming in for a Saturday show.

The Friday card headlines veteran featherweights Orlando Canizales and Edwin Santana, plus has local junior middleweight Julian Jackson in a companion main event. ESPN will televise.

The Saturday card offers junior welterweights Hector Lopez and Mark Lewis in the main event. Television is limited to Southern California.

Jackson, a two-time former world champion, is in the unique position of being under contract to Don King while fighting for a rival promoter, Bob Arum.

"I'm not concerned with Don King," said Jackson, the always cheerful Henderson resident who is mounting a comeback of sorts at the age of 36. "My contract with him expires in October and I have a release from him to fight for Top Rank."

And if King feels the need to enforce the contract and offers Jackson a fight before October?

"I wouldn't do it," Jackson replied.

It's a fresh start of sorts for Jackson, a former WBA and WBC titleholder at 154 and 160 pounds. A native of the Virgin Islands, Jackson is 53-4 with 47 knockouts in a pro career that is into its 17th year.

Despite a willingness to fight, he was limited to two bouts in 1996, both in California.

"I wasn't pleased with what was happening," he said of King keeping him under contract but not offering him any work. "But I don't want to look back too much. I don't want to let anything stop or hinder me now that I've got a chance to fight on a regular basis again."

He's hoping to parlay a good performance Friday against Terry Ford into additional fights for Top Rank. Ford, 16-8, doesn't have Jackson's pedigree and may offer only limited competition.

"I have no pressure on me whatsoever," Jackson said. "I feel real relaxed and real good mentally, and physically I'm up to par."

There was a time when Jackson was 47-1 and a recognized, if slightly underpublicized, superstar. But a yearly loss each in 1993, '94 and '95 -- the first two at the hands of Gerald McClellan and the latter to Quincy Taylor -- dropped him from King's "A" list.

By 1996, Jackson was scrounging for fights on his own and content to take a 10-round bout with Leonardo Aguilar in L.A. and an eight-round fight with Augustin Renteria in Indio, Calif. He was a decision winner on each occasion.

"Both those times people were astonished at my condition," Jackson said. "I've taken care of my body all these years and I'm in great shape. People will see: On paper I may be 36, but, in reality, I'm 26."

Tyrone Boone and Dan Voy will work the corner for Jackson, who has been training at the Ringside Gym. He said earlier surgeries for an eye problem and for a torn rotator cuff were successful and that he has had no negative repercussions.

"I've been plagued with injuries and with starting and stopping my career," he said. "That's one reason I'm so hungry to get started again now."

In Friday's co-feature, Canizales fights in Las Vegas for the second time in 10 weeks as he looks to position himself for a possible bout with noted featherweight champion Naseem Hamed. Canizales is 45-3-1 with 34 knockouts, while his opponent, Santana, is 22-1-3 with only six KOs. Santana is coming off a loss to Kevin Kelley last November and figures to have his hands full with Canizales.

Also on the Friday card is local featherweight Augie Sanchez, 10-0, against an opponent still to be determined. First bell is 5:30 p.m.

The following night, Forum Boxing brings in Lopez and Lewis for what could be an intriguing main event. Both are veterans, although Lopez has been the more active and, overall, has faced the better competition.

Lopez, 30, is 35-6-1 with 18 KOs and has seven wins in his last eight outings. The lone loss in that streak was a decision setback to Carlos Gonzalez in March.

Lewis, 28, is 16-2 with 13 KOs and defeated Gonzalez last October, although he failed to immediately capitalize and move up the ladder after that unexpected win. He has fought once since, taking an eight-round TKO win over Raul Hernandez June 27 in Irvine, Calif., in a bout in which he was knocked down in the third round.

Topping the Saturday undercard is a 10-round junior welterweight fight between Hector Quiroz, 22-2, and Joey Negron, 14-5-3. First bell is 7:15 p.m. and the card is the first of what is said to be an eight-card deal between Forum Boxing and the Tropicana.